Sobriety is Easy: Just Add Anchors

Feeling temptation to drink alcohol is very rare for me these days, now over three years into my permanent sobriety. I do occasionally, however, feel momentary pangs of desire for the elixir so woven into my life for all those many years of drinking. On a recent warm and sunny Saturday afternoon I felt such a craving as I turned onto my block heading home with all my goals accomplished for the day.

I was done. It was time for some well deserved relaxation. Reclining on my sun-drenched back porch with a golden-amber IPA in my hand sounded, for a moment, like a well-earned reward.

I was alone in my Jeep, and I actually laughed out loud at that fleeting thought. I can’t drink. Just imagine how many people I would disappoint and how many bridges I would burn. My wife — I can’t even fathom her reaction — more anger and pain than the human brain is capable of managing. I’ve preached to my kids for years that alcohol is a poison dangerous in any quantity. What about all the people I’ve grown to love who participate in our SHOUT Sobriety program. And the fellow writers in the addiction and recovery space, and other sobriety badasses with whom I interact on a regular basis — what would they think? I’ve spent three years gaining the trust of thousands of readers — I can’t lose my credibility with them. And then there are my friends and extended family — their respect…